Haunted
by Gracielinn
Summary: He was Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, one of Delta Force's finest. Intelligent, highly trained, a seasoned combat veteran. But he had never encountered danger like this before... (TFP)


Haunted

No matter how fiercely he squinted his eyes, the blackness was total and impenetrable, and the complete, smothering silence only seemed to amplify his harsh breathing. Fervently wishing he was armed, Wyatt pushed down his rising panic by concentrating on staying perfectly still, trying to control his racing heartbeat, even as he worried about the others. He had endured tougher circumstances than this before and persevered. He just had to keep his wits about him, but it was difficult when his thoughts kept circling relentlessly around and around.

Dammit, why had he surrendered? And what a rookie move handing his phone over to Lucy, since (as usual) Wyatt was powerless to withstand her pleading. He absolutely knew better, although he was relieved that she had finally quit whimpering, or maybe that was Rufus? Didn't matter. The objective was to survive, to make it out alive. He was Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, one of Delta Force's finest. Intelligent, highly trained, a seasoned combat veteran. Yeah, and all that amounted to a lousy hill of beans in the face of a danger he had never encountered before.

What the hell had he been thinking? He was all too aware that after a certain number of drinks, his natural reticence began to dissipate, especially when it came to personal stuff. So he only had himself to blame for the situation he was currently in. He let his fondness for the team weaken his usual steely resolve, and now he was paying the price. Trapped. Apparently alone. Running out of options. In a freakin' Halloween haunted house, of all places...

 _Three hours earlier..._

As the afternoon wore on, Wyatt vaguely realized he could be considered less-than-stellar company, but to be fair, Lucy was rather subdued also, and Rufus hadn't let loose with one of his deep cackles of amusement even once. Out of their morose little foursome lounging around a booth in their usual hangout, only Jiya seemed to be in a decent mood, and while she was trying valiantly to raise their spirits, the rest of the team was definitely suffering the aftereffects of their latest jump, a particularly brutal mission they had returned from late this morning.

Not long after Emma had hijacked the mother ship, and Lucy's mom had revealed her deep, previously-unknown Rittenhouse ties, the team began operating under the assumption that Carol Preston was calling the shots now, given that over 150 Rittenhouse operatives, including Benjamin Cahill, had already been taken into custody. And as good a historian as Lucy was, she just wasn't quite of the caliber (yet) of Dr. Preston, and it was heartbreaking to witness the toll that knowledge was taking on her personally, as Emma and her team always seemed to be one step ahead of them, despite their best efforts.

So after a difficult mission debriefing led by an increasingly-frustrated Agent Christopher, the discouraged trio had silently made their way to the locker rooms to shower and change, only to find a sympathetic Jiya waiting for them when they finished. She had hugged Lucy, patted Wyatt on the arm, and throwing her arms around Rufus' neck, had suggested that the four of them grab a late lunch, and maybe a couple (or ten) drinks at their favorite bar.

When Lucy looked uncertainly at him, Wyatt just shrugged and admitted, "I could eat something," and then made the decision for Lucy by taking her hand, and coaxing, "C'mon, Professor, I know you haven't eaten anything since yesterday," and he was gratified when she acquiesced, following him out to his truck and climbing in. An hour or so later, after polishing off a plate of sandwiches and a couple rounds of drinks, the general mood around the table began to lighten, enough that Jiya was able to talk Rufus into a game of darts.

Although she had managed to half-heartedly consume not quite half a sandwich and a couple of his fries, a still too-quiet Lucy was also nearly done with her third glass of white wine, and as slight as she was, Wyatt was pretty sure he would probably be carrying her out of here if he didn't do something soon. Pushing his half-eaten basket of fries towards her, he urged, "Hey, Lucy, since I ate my sandwich and at least half of yours, could you finish up these fries, please?" When she bestowed one of her special (just for Wyatt Logan) eye rolls on him, he knew she wasn't fooled by his seemingly innocent request, but letting it go, she obediently starting poking around the basket.

Noticing that Rufus and Jiya were still very much absorbed in their dart "death match," Wyatt took a deep breath and jumped off the proverbial cliff. "Uh, Lucy, I know you're stressed out right now about a lot of stuff, especially your mother," and when she lifted incredulous eyes to him, he shrugged, "Okay, so maybe that was an understatement," and pausing long enough to finish off his third (fourth?) whiskey, continued, "I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. You have more guts and determination and heart than most people I know, and well, I'm probably saying this all wrong, but never doubt that I'm here for you, whatever you need."

The whole time Wyatt was speaking, she kept her gaze fixed intently on his face, and he was dismayed when her dark eyes began to well up. "Oh, hey, Lucy, don't cry, please, you know I can't take it when you cry," and he was relieved when she sniffed rather loudly and resolutely blinking back her tears, offered him a shaky smile. "Thanks, Wyatt" she whispered, "I really appreciate that," and she took his hand and squeezed it hard. When Lucy went to pull her hand away, he surprised both of them by holding on to it firmly, and her shy smile made him feel warm inside.

Just then, a triumphant Jiya bounded up to the table, with her obviously disgruntled boyfriend lagging behind. Plopping down in the booth, she gleefully declared, "Yes! Still the dart champion of Mason Industries!" and Lucy and Wyatt both smiled at the expression on Rufus' face. "Way to go, Jiya," Lucy cheered, while Wyatt teased his friend, "Jeez, Rufus, are you ever gonna beat her at darts?"

"Hey, I've had way more to drink than she has," the other man protested, as Wyatt shot him a skeptical glance. Planting a big kiss on his cheek, Jiya consoled, "Aw, honey, it's okay, you're seriously good at lots of other things, just not darts." Rufus brightened at that. "Really? You think so?" and they all laughed when his girlfriend stopped to think about it, and then shook her head somewhat regretfully, "Um, yeah, sure, kind of? Sorry, babe," before sheepishly grinning at his dramatic pout.

After Jiya pointed out that Halloween was next week, the two couples fell into a discussion of their favorite horror movies. Naturally, she and Rufus were big "Friday the 13th" fans ( _"hey, can't go wrong with the classics," Rufus insisted_ ), while Lucy admitted with a shiver that movies about demonic possession like the "Exorcist" and "The Conjuring" really freaked her out. Rufus looked across the table, "What about you, Wyatt? Big tough soldier like you probably devours scary movies, right?" and both women snickered and gazed at him expectantly.

Shrugging, Wyatt responded good-naturedly, "Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not actually a big fan of horror movies, and yeah, I know it sounds like a cliche, but westerns are my favorite," and his face reddened slightly at the (fond) hoots of derision from the other three, "Hey, you do remember I'm from Texas, right?" he retorted, rather defensively.

Deciding to ignore their snarky comments, Wyatt sighed and had just ordered another round when Jiya's face lit up, "You know what, guys? All this talk of Halloween and creepy movies gives me a great idea. I heard about this really awesome haunted house down by the convention center. It's supposed to be the biggest, scariest one in San Diego, and I think we should all go."

At the less-than-enthusiastic response from her companions, Jiya began to plead, "Aw, c'mon, you guys, it'll be so cool. I really like being scared like that. Don't you just love haunted houses? Please? Rufus? Guys? Please?" flashing big dark puppy dog eyes around the table. Rufus, of course, who very seldom denied his girlfriend anything, reluctantly agreed, while an unsure Lucy looked at Wyatt before she decided, "You know what? I'm in, it might be fun," and then they were all waiting patiently on Wyatt.

"I desperately hate to hand you three any more ammunition, and I already know I'm gonna be sorry, but I have to say that I have never been to a haunted house," Wyatt confessed. At the surprised expressions on their faces, he immediately felt uneasy about sharing that potentially damaging piece of personal information, and dammit, he was really starting to regret that last drink he had.

Smothering matching grins, Rufus and Jiya looked at each other solemnly while Lucy sympathetically squeezed his hand and murmured, "It's okay to be afraid, Wyatt, we won't judge." Glancing at a highly-amused Jiya and Lucy for confirmation, Rufus declared, "Well, that settles it. We can't let Wyatt go the rest of his life without ever visiting a haunted house, now can we, ladies?" At their fervent nods, Wyatt knew he was toast. If he bailed now, they would never (ever) let him hear the end of it. Yep, time to suck it up, buttercup. Take one for the team. No guts, no glory. Good lord, he was so screwed.

Throwing back the rest of his drink and slamming the glass down on the table, Wyatt quickly stood (barely unsteady on his feet, he was proud to note) and proclaimed gruffly, with false bravado, "Fine, great, let's do it," and tried to ignore the tiny voice in the back of his head screaming about what a bad idea this was. He ignored that voice, though, at the look of excited anticipation on Lucy's face, because no matter how this turned out, it would be completely worth it to make her a little bit happy.

Since they had all been drinking, Rufus called for an Uber ride, and by the time they got picked up and driven to the street where the haunted house was located, it was near dusk. When they got in the surprisingly long line (for a Thursday night) to wait, Wyatt was a little bemused to realize that Lucy was still holding his hand, and he found that he liked that very much. Maybe he could pretend to hold her hand in case she got scared, when probably just the opposite would likely be true, he thought ruefully.

When they eventually got to the front of the line, in spite of her protests, Wyatt gallantly paid for Lucy's admission ticket, and was surprised when she impulsively reached up on her tiptoes and casually kissed his cheek. He smiled at her shy thanks, and tightening his grip on her small hand, squared his shoulders and led her inside behind Rufus and Jiya.

After given the choice of going through the haunted house all four together, or as two couples, they all agreed to separate, and meet up outside when they were done. "Have fun, you two, and behave yourselves in the dark," Jiya giggled as Rufus impatiently tugged her forward, and then their friends disappeared into the darkness.

After waiting several minutes in the dimly-lit holding area while being forced to listen to appropriately spooky music, he and Lucy were ushered into a small room or hallway of some kind, though it was hard to tell in the pitch blackness. "This is going to be fun, right?" Lucy asked bravely and flinched slightly as a series of muffled shrieks floated towards them from somewhere in the distance.

"Wyatt, don't let go of my hand, okay?" she asked in a quavery whisper. Clearing his throat, he tightened his grip on her hand, and whispered back, "I won't, if you promise not to let go of mine." The air in here was dank and cool, and the gloom so thick, he felt, rather than saw, her nod of agreement.

Going forward hesitantly, they were both startled by the unexpected blinding flash of numerous black lights, and Wyatt instinctively brought his free hand up to shield his eyes. Then his heart skipped a beat and Lucy gasped loudly as a shadow peeled from the wall beside them. "Good evening, young lovers, welcome to the Fortress of Fear," intoned the unusually tall figure, who was garbed as the Grim Reaper, complete with glowing red eyes. "We hope you enjoy your visit, and come back again soon. If you survive, that is." And peals of maniacal laughter emanating from the Reaper seemed to bounce off the walls until it surrounded them.

Lucy's hand trembled in his as Wyatt cleared his throat, "Yeah, okay, moving on," and as they pushed past him, the Reaper's eyes began to flash and ghostly moans filled the air. Now it was totally dark again, save for an occasional red pulsing light that glowed sporadically in front of them. Lucy shrank against him as more than one something (bats?) flew past their faces, and Wyatt thought they probably should walk a little faster.

He briefly wondered how far ahead of them Rufus and Jiya were, and then promptly forgot about his friends as Lucy screamed when a giant, glowing skeleton dropped suddenly from the ceiling and swayed back and forth in front of them. After taking a second to try and catch their breath, they shoved the dangling bones out of their way, and nearly walked into a wall. Wyatt cautiously felt along one side, and encountering open space, they turned towards the right, entering a large, somewhat rectangular room.

Looking up, his relief at seeing many small candles burning in a huge chandelier high above their heads was extinguished when the candles were, courtesy of a chilly draft that swirled moistly around them. A putrid green light began to flash in one corner of the room as the jangling sounds of a pipe organ floated through the air, and Wyatt squinted at what appeared to be a lone figure standing perfectly still.

Moving forward, he and Lucy approached the figure cautiously, and Wyatt recoiled when he realized it was a clown. A really big clown. With a grinning, demonic face. Holding a bunch of blood-red balloons. He could feel the sweat pop on his forehead and was aware of Lucy tugging on his hand, but couldn't seem to make his feet move. Wyatt Logan hated clowns. Really, really hated clowns. Always had, always would.

"The fear of clowns is called coulrophobia," Lucy whispered helpfully. Oh, God, had he said that out loud? Apparently, because then she started to quietly recite statistics about clowns, and Wyatt had to put his free hand over her mouth to stop the flow of words or he was gonna lose his shit right then and there. Sucking in a harsh breath, he jerked his hand away from her lips when he felt the tip of her tongue on his fingers. "Did you just lick my hand?" he hissed. "I couldn't breathe," she protested reasonably.

"Okay, okay, we need to remain calm and keep going," he ordered, "And just so you know, if we get out of here alive, I'm going to kill Jiya and Rufus." The impudent brat snickered softly as Wyatt gathered the tattered shreds of his dignity around him, and grabbing her hand, turned away from the dreaded refugee from the circus and looked around in vain for a doorway or exit.

Across the room, more lights began flashing, a sickly yellow this time, revealing a scene with a body in a dentist's chair and a figure in a bloody white coat standing over them, holding what looked like, what sounded like, oh Lord, it was. As the familiar whining sound filled the air, they watched in horror as the very large drill appeared to go all the way down the throat of the body in the chair, while the "dentist" threw back his head and shrieked with laughter, and then Lucy started to kind of dry heave as what seemed to be blood started spurting up in the air. Now, that, Wyatt thought admiringly, was actually pretty cool until he remembered how the sight of (even fake) blood affected Lucy. Damn, this place was pushing all their buttons tonight.

"Oh, Wyatt," she whimpered, clutching his arm tightly, "I think I'm going to be sick," so finally locating a door at the very back of the room of horrors, he hustled her back into the darkness, and stood there rubbing her back until she started to breath somewhat normally. "What we need is a flashlight," Wyatt lamented, and when Lucy asked, "Don't you have the flashlight app on your phone?" he was so relieved, he could have kissed her. Maybe later. If they survived this hell house.

Pulling his phone from his back pocket, he pushed the "on" button, and they both sighed in relief as the screen dimly lit up. Swiping quickly through the apps, he found the right one, and suddenly, the all-encompassing murkiness they were trapped in was broken up by a soft white glow. "Lucy Preston, you really are a genius," he said approvingly. Briefly flashing the light around them was no help though, because the walls were probably covered in some kind of black cloth.

"Wyatt, would it be okay if I held your phone for a little while, please? This darkness is kind of starting to get to me," she admitted in a small voice. He really didn't want to relinquish his phone, but it was getting to the point between the two of them where he couldn't seem to deny her anything (Jesus, he was turning into Rufus). Just as he reluctantly handed it over, the faint sound of voices drifted over them. "That's Jiya!" Lucy exclaimed, and before Wyatt could react, she dropped his hand and darted away from him. Taking his phone with her. Their only source of light. Great.

Wyatt sighed and carefully feeling his way forward, towards Lucy and hopefully Rufus and Jiya, cursed loudly as without warning, he ran right into a wall. What the hell? He tried again, methodically patting the solid surfaces in front and on both sides of him. Where had she gone? She couldn't have just disappeared into thin air. Holding his breath for a count of ten, he listened in vain for a sound, any sound. Nothing.

No matter how fiercely he squinted his eyes, the blackness was total and impenetrable, and the complete, smothering silence only seemed to amplify his harsh breathing. Fervently wishing he was armed, Wyatt pushed down his rising panic by concentrating on staying perfectly still, trying to control his racing heartbeat, even as he was vaguely worried about the others. He had endured tougher circumstances than this before and persevered. He just had to keep his wits about him, but it was difficult when his thoughts kept circling relentlessly around and around.

Dammit, why had he surrendered? And what a rookie move handing his phone over to Lucy, since (as usual) Wyatt was powerless to withstand her entreaties. He absolutely knew better, although he was relieved that she had finally quit whimpering, or maybe that was Rufus? Didn't matter. The objective was to survive, to make it out alive. He was Master Sergeant Wyatt Logan, one of Delta Force's finest. Intelligent, highly trained, a seasoned combat veteran. Yeah, and all that amounted to a lousy hill of beans in the face of a danger he had never encountered before.

What the hell had he been thinking? He was all too aware that after a certain number of drinks, his natural reticence began to dissipate, especially when it came to personal stuff. So he only had himself to blame for the situation he was currently in. He let his fondness for the team weaken his usual steely resolve, and now he was paying the price. Trapped. Apparently alone. Running out of options. In a freakin' Halloween haunted house, of all places...

Then unexpectedly, she was back, right at his side. "Wyatt? It's me," she whispered, and he felt such overwhelming relief that he eagerly reached out to grab her arm (which felt oddly soft). Inhaling sharply, Lucy muttered, "Uh, Wyatt, that's not my arm," and he dropped his hand like it was scalded. And that was the cherry on top of the sundae that the past hour had been. As if things weren't bad enough, now he was groping Lucy. And right on cue, there was the tiny voice in his head again, this time cheerfully pointing out that she really hadn't seemed to mind. Not helping. Not at all.

All right, that was it. This party was over. He was done, through, finished. This time though, she put her hand over his mouth when he opened it to apologize. "Don't you dare," Lucy warned. Just as he fought the temptation to lick her hand in retaliation, she removed it from his lips. "Wyatt Logan," she scolded, "Pay attention. I know where Rufus and Jiya are and how to get out of here," and this time, he just couldn't help himself.

Pressing her firmly against one of the black cloth-covered walls, he planted a hard kiss on her warm, very willing lips. All too soon, the (un)welcome sound of their friends' voices got closer. Wyatt pulled his mouth from hers abruptly, and tried to slow down his breathing. "What was that for?" Lucy asked softly. "Because I wanted to, and you are the smartest woman I know," and grinned when she murmured, "Good answer."

Taking his hand, Lucy led Wyatt through the hidden door she had found earlier, and within two minutes, they found Rufus and Jiya waiting for them. Apparently, he and Lucy had been mere feet away from the exit. Figures. Taking Lucy firmly by the hand, Wyatt followed the other two outside, and when she sheepishly handed him back his phone, he was amazed to see that they had been inside the haunted house for less than an hour.

"The people that run this place could teach the Army a thing or two about torture," he grumbled to Lucy, who smirked at his irritated expression. As Rufus stepped to one side to place a call for their ride back to the bar to get their vehicles, Lucy pulled Wyatt close and winding her arms around his neck, drew his pouting lips to hers. So of course, the tiny voice in his head just had to have the last word: maybe the haunted house hadn't been such a bad idea after all.

 _A/N: I know I already wrote a Halloween fic last week, but I just couldn't get the idea of super soldier Wyatt Logan being freaked out by a haunted house out of my head, so here we are. Hope you all like it. Now, I have a confession to make: Halloween is my favorite holiday, 'cause it's just so much fun and there's CANDY, duh (and it's not nearly as much work as Christmas or Thanksgiving, LOL). Thanks a whole bunch, like always, for all the yummy reviews, favorites, and follows for all my fics. You guys are the best... :)))  
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